06/23/2003
A 17-year-old Elgin, Ill., youth drowned while swimming with four friends at an old quarry currently owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District in Chicago. According to police, the victim tried unsuccessfully to swim from one end to the other -- a distance of about 200 feet in one direction and 1,500 feet in the other. His friends quickly called for help, but it took divers from the Elgin Fire Department about 40 minutes to recover the teen's body, which was found in about 10 to 12 feet of water. The quarry sits in a remote area surrounded by trees, rough terrain and brush nearly a mile from the nearest roads, which made it extremely difficult for ambulances to maneuver through the woods. (Source: Elgin Daily Herald)